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Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Mendelssohn: Song Without Words, Op. 19b, No. 1

The first two measures of this piece serve as an introduction. They get the flow of the sixteenth note pattern, which runs throughout the entire length of the piece, going. I interpreted this piece to have three periods. The first, which is from measures 3-15, contains two phrases. They both have identical first and second measures, but the rest of the material differs. The first phrase is 4 measures long, but the second lasts for 8 measures. Measures 12-13 hinted at a cadence with descending chromatic notes, but it didn't arrive until 2 measures later at the 1st/2nd endings. After this section repeats, it moves on to a new period, which has an unmarked shift in tonality. The complete makeup of the melody has changed - instead of feeling light and flowing, it now sounds more forward-moving. The half cadence in measure 24 sounds like the end of the phrase, but it is echoed and extended out another four bars. We then come to a return of the first motive, the A section. It varies slightly from what was written earlier, but still includes a part with downward-moving chromatics which hint at a cadence. The very end of the piece, like the ending of the second period, has an extention to the cadence.